Quran and Sunnah

10 Requirements for Seeking Knowledge, from Surah ash-Shu’araa

Published

March 26, 2008

Omar Usman

1. Sincerity (al-Ikhlaas)

It may be that you (O Muhammad SAW) are going to kill yourself with grief, that they do not become believers [in your Risalah (Messengership) and in your Message of Islamic Monotheism]. (26:3)

2. Manners (al-Adab)

And when I am ill, it is He who cures me. (26:80)

3. Trust (al-Amanah)

Give full measure, and cause no loss (to others) (26:181)

4. Truthfulness (as-Sidq)

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Fir’aun (Pharaoh) said: “Bring it forth then, if you are of the truthful!” (26:31)

5. Humbleness (al-Tawaadu’)

And be kind and humble to the believers who follow you. (26:215)

6. Trust and Reliance (al-Thiqah wa al-Tawakkul)

[Musa (Moses)] said: “Nay, verily! With me is my Lord, He will guide me.” (26:62)

And put your trust in the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful (26:217)

7. Worship (al-‘Ibaadah)

Who sees you (O Muhammad SAW) when you stand up (alone at night for Tahajjud prayers).And your movements among those who fall prostrate (along with you to Allah in the five compulsory congregational prayers).(26:218-219)

8. Remembrance (al-Dhikr)

Except those who believe, and do righteous deeds, and remember Allah much (26:227)

9. Acting Upon It (al-‘Amalu bihi)

And that they say what they do not do? Except those [poets] who believe and do righteous deeds and remember Allah often and defend [the Muslims] after they were wronged. And those who have wronged are going to know to what [kind of] return they will be returned. (26:226-227)

10. Specialization (al-Takhassus)

Do you not see that in every valley they roam (26:225)

Ibadah, Taqwa, and Shukr – A Mindblowing Relationship (the 10 ayaat above were compiled by the same Imam who gave me this relationship).
Keeping it Real: Student of Knowledge Superstars

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Omar Usman

Omar Usman is a founding member of MuslimMatters and Qalam Institute. He teaches Islamic seminars across the US including Khateeb Workshop and Fiqh of Social Media. He has served in varying administrative capacities for multiple national and local Islamic organizations. You can follow his work at ibnabeeomar.com.

17 Comments

Atif

March 26, 2008 at 4:02 PM

Assalamu’alaykum
Is that a coincidence that today’s date is the 26th, and you’re quoting Surah #26 from the Qur’an?

Reply
Kaywan Salah

March 26, 2008 at 4:48 PM

Al-salam

Masha Allah, muslim brothers and sisters. may Allah (swt) reward you for your good work and shower his mercy upon all the muslins in the world.

Wa-salam.

Reply
ibnabeeomar

March 26, 2008 at 5:04 PM

wsalam..
atif- pure coincidence
kaywan – jazakallahukhayr

Reply
True Virtues

March 26, 2008 at 6:25 PM

Jazakallahu Khair! That was short, sweet, and to the point!

Reply
ExEx Blogger

March 26, 2008 at 7:40 PM

* Yawn * JK

Short & Concise. Nice

Reply
Nadia

March 26, 2008 at 8:20 PM

Excellent points, especially since they’re all from Qur’an. And like others said, it’s concise and therefore easy to remember. Jazakallah khayr for posting!

Reply
Solomon2

March 26, 2008 at 9:45 PM

Ugh. These sound more like a recipe for getting brainwashed rather than learning. Where are doubt, experiment, logic, analysis, self-honesty, piety, memorization, practice, and skills for confronting yet respecting one’s teachers?

If you still don’t get it, think deeply and consider: what sort of doctor is the Muslim who subscribes to Surah’s list? An effective physician, or merely what Russians call a “faith healer” and others a “witch doctor”?

Since I know good Muslim doctors do exist, I think that if they consider Surah’s list at all, they dismiss as quickly as a puff of smoke: get it out of your lungs so you feel better, but never consider lighting up ever again.

Reply
ibnabeeomar

March 26, 2008 at 10:50 PM

solomon – no need for the harshness. its some etiquettes for seeking religious knowledge not an exhaustive and exclusive list for anything and everything.. get a grip :)

Reply
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whatever

March 27, 2008 at 6:29 AM

“Who sees you (O Muhammad SAW) when you stand up (alone at night for Tahajjud prayers).And your movements among those who fall prostrate (along with you to Allah in the five compulsory congregational prayers).(26:218-219)”

I pray the five prayers but with regard to the above ayats, which English translation is this from? I have never seen the number 5 in any English translations. just asking…….

Reply
ibnabeeomar

March 27, 2008 at 9:38 AM

whatever – it is from the muhsin khan translation. the parenthetical portion is added explanation by the translation as to what is being referred to based on the tafseer of the ayah. a more literal translation would be,

Who sees you when you arise (218), And your movement among those who prostrate. (219)

Reply
whatever

March 27, 2008 at 11:51 AM

Thank you ibnabeeomar. Do you know if this translation is available on the net for download or purchase? I would like to read and compare with what I have already read elsewhere.

Reply
ibnabeeomar

March 27, 2008 at 12:17 PM

I pulled both of the above translations from this site:
http://searchquran.net/ (Muhsin Khan and Saheeh International).

I have seen them in PDF in various places online but can’t recall where. here’s the purchase links though:

Muhsin Khan:
http://www.dar-us-salam.com/store/main.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Dus&Product_Code=Q01C&Category_Code=Eng_Quran

Saheeh International:
http://islamicbookstore.com/b5269.html

Reply
whatever

March 27, 2008 at 1:20 PM

Thanks ibnabeeomar.

Reply
Solomon2

March 27, 2008 at 9:39 PM

Ah, I remember what I left out of my list! Integrity.

Why do I have to be the one to point these things out? Is the concept of integrity so alien to others at muslimmatters.org?

Reply
Abû Mûsâ Al-Ḥabashî

March 27, 2008 at 11:56 PM

Integrity falls under a number of the above but most specifically number 1 and 9.

Reply
shiney

June 18, 2010 at 10:37 PM

nice guidelines-thank you for posting them up

Reply